No tracking or shipment ID

[Vergilios]

Hello team,

Can you please provide me with a tracking/shipment number for the parcel sent for my order #56396? I have reached out to Support via ticket #15898, however they are saying that there is no tracking ID for the parcel, which I find impossible - how can I verify my parcel and how can I track it then?

Please assist, thank you.

[TheRea1Gordon]

I've not reached out to support yet, but probably will soon.

In a similar situation. By the updates it should have shipped a while ago but no shipping confirmation or tracking info yet.

Order 55881

[Vergilios]

I have received a notification today via email that a note was added to my order with the tracking link, for which I am grateful. However, I am not happy with my experience with Support, I myself worked for Support for the last 10 years, and getting misinformation like I got (first that my order wasn't completed and it actually was, then that the courier company doesn't provide tracking information, which is insane) and not even getting a response through the ticket yet that the order has been updated with the tracking link, is something I find quite troubling.

Also, my name was misspelled on the shipment, but I hope that it will still arrive without issues.

I've been very patient waiting for the order to be shipped, and I'll definitely support the company, however the support experience & interaction should be improved honestly. Just some constructive feedback, kudos to the whole team who is working hard on providing this product and everything around it.

[AeroGator]

>>> I am not happy with my experience with Support, I myself worked for Support for the last 10 years, and getting misinformation like I got <<<

I apologize for this experience.
One thing though, our dealer in the EU is an independent business which we are not in control of. I will however elevate this case to a higher level to do what I can to make it not happen again.

[Bob12]

There is an issue with VKB's European division, and it is negatively affecting VKB's brand reputation overall. Currently, customers in the EU have lost trust in VKB Europe due to their lack of professionalism.

There are numerous posts on various forums globally, where many customers express dissatisfaction with VKB Europe, while VKB US maintains a more favorable reputation. However, the European branch is struggling significantly—they are making excuses, do not have efficient systems in place, complain about customs issues, mock their customers, and fail to properly manage orders. It seems like they have no control or proper tracking in place.

In the Star Citizen community, there is a growing fear of purchasing VKB products from the European division due to these issues.

My question is: why isn’t VKB, as a brand, taking action to address these problems with VKB Europe? Why aren't they setting guidelines or ensuring compliance? After observing VKB Europe for the past five months, it appears they don't even adhere to European laws. and why cant we buy from US site, it seems they have more professionalism when coming to understand how to selling the band VKB.

I know many people are hesitant to purchase from VKB Europe. There's uncertainty around whether customers will receive their money back, when their items will be shipped, or even if they'll get a tracking ID. Essentially, customers are left in the dark. There's only about a 40% chance of receiving their product, and some have been waiting over 40 days.

According to European law, if a customer does not receive their product within 30 days, they are entitled to a full refund. If a company fails to comply, they can face fines from the EU. Since VKB Europe operates out of the Netherlands, I’m wondering why VKB headquarters hasn’t stepped in to address these issues and ensure VKB Europe is complying with regulations.

So, my question to you, @AeroGator, is: Why isn’t VKB’s headquarters doing anything to resolve the problems with VKB Europe?

[Eduard VKB FSC]

Hello Vergilios,

Sorry for confusion with the tracking information. As you are located in non-EU country, we handle orders to your destination manually. There is more room for mistakes indeed. I hope your order has arrived to your address safely.

[Eduard VKB FSC]

There is an issue with VKB's European division,

I decided to answer to this post, despite of the fact that Bob12 didn't place a question to me. This is a public forum, so it is important that this post does not stay unanswered.

Bob12, I appreciate that you spent your time to register with only reason to submit this post. However, this topic you chose to post is quite specific. The issue discussing here is not relevant to our business as usual and even to our area of responsibility within VKB. This is about a shipment to non-EU country which we have to handle manually. Our support is not handling it often. It was indeed a mistake but mistakes could happen. We worked through that case and our support specialists are fully aware now.

The main markets for us are EU countries plus UK, Norway and Switzerland. For all those countries the shipment process is automated or semi-automated where all customers receive information about the order process automatically including tracking information. Unfortunately, it does not work globally.

VKB FSC Europe is 11 years old. We started when VKB could offer only one product. All those years we were growing together getting through the challenges on the way.

As we feel to be a part of simpilots community, we make shipment to many countries outside of EU because people asked for it. We always try to minimize costs for our customers. Therefore, we still ship to many countries outside EU including Middle East and Africa and use the low cost vendor to far destinations which is PostNL. It requires to fill up the forms and handle the process manually. It is not good for business, indeed. It is better to stop shipping outside our main markets and focus on the main markets which is the most profitable ones. But would it be fair for people who has lost that option? It is hard dilemma. We like to be a part of community and help them to get good devices for reasonable price.

But this attack of the user who has registered to submit this only post makes me think that we have to focus on the main markets only. VKB is now mature enough to handle it globally.

Getting back to the original post. It is interesting how Bob12 counting chances to get a product and makes 40% of it. Hmm. Our payment platform is PayPal. It handles 100% of e-payment transaction including credit/debit cards and several local e-payment systems . PayPal is known for its well working buyer protection and measures against fraud. Those measures often too tight for many merchants. We have now very good reputation with PayPal. Saying "many people are hesitant to purchase" is simply manipulation. Every customer could request cancellation and refund via PayPal if there are any issues from our side. It does not matter if it is EU or non-EU transaction.

"40 days waiting time" it is another nice statement. Backorder was introduced in May this year to help people to place an order upfront instead of buying items in harry, when the products are available for short time. Backorder allows to place an order in good, controlled manner. We also offer “Consolidated” shipping. It means that the customer could make a new order which will be shipped together with the existing orders and eventually save on shipping cost. There are multiple customers who cancelled orders and placed it again with different set of items or add some other items after further consideration. I believe it is the right way to offer it especially when there is a temporary lack of stock. If the order contains the wrong item or incompatible items, we hold order and contact the customer for clarification. Yes, it takes time, efforts and resources but mechanically shipping boxes is not what we do.
As soon as we fulfilled all waiting customers and have enough stock, the backorder is not in use. It is all communicated on the website and here on the forum as well.

Why the low stock situation happened with EU store and didn't happen with US store? Because we have to have goods in our own warehouse to sell it. Dropshipping is not allowed by PayPal and makes trade in EU difficult. US is totally different market with different rules.

This year was challenging for world logistics. There was lack of containers, lack of containerships, longer route over Africa. It affects everyone who is dealing with transportation of goods between China and Europe. Together with VKB Global we managed to resolve it. Now backorder is almost over. Currently we have only one variant of Gladiator on backorder (NXT EVO Standard Right-handed), all the others are available for regular shipping. It means we ship within 1-3 working days.

It is quite long post in reply to the anonymous Bob12 post. I don't know what was the purpose of this attack and I guess it does not matter. I hope I clarified situation with cancellation/refund and backorder (which is almost a history now) as well as our attitude and why certain decisions were made.